Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The start of something new!

Raise your hand if my post title makes you start humming that song from High School Musical!

Sunday night our family joined with 9-10 other families from our neighborhood and went Christmas caroling.

The weather was absolutely perfect, the voices were strong and enthusiastic, and it was great fun! Our group was very large and I'm afraid we might have scared a few people when they opened their door to see all of us on the lawn but they seemed to enjoy having us sing to them! The one neighbor who listened to us sing every single verse of The Twelve Days of Christmas with a smile on his face the entire time was such a good sport!

After singing, we went back to our next door neighbors' home for hot chocolate and Christmas cookies. We even had an ornament exchange. I love that this is the ornament we ended up with. What a perfect reminder of a fun evening with our neighbors.

The snowman is holding a candle and a songbook that says "2010". It's just perfect!

My creative, energetic, generous, and amazing friend, Heather, organized the whole night. She made songbooks for every family (easy, kid-friendly favorites) and distributed them beforehand so the kids could practice. Believe me, the kids took her seriously and were well rehearsed! She also bought battery-operated candlesticks from the dollar store and gave each family a couple to use for the evening. We gave everything back to her to save for next year because it was such a great evening that everyone wants to do it again next year!!!

If our neighborhood 4th of July Pancake Breakfasts and Block Parties, and Halloween carnival and hayrides, and Bunco, and Summer Happy Hours haven't convinced you that we live in the BEST neighborhood ever, then maybe our Christmas Caroling party will?!? WE ARE SO BLESSED TO LIVE AMONG SUCH AMAZING FAMILIES!!!

This is what we're giving our neighbors this year for Christmas.

It's cookie dough that they can refrigerator or freeze until they're ready to bake again (are y'all cookied out yet?) I totally copied the idea from this blog. I copied the Chewy Chocolate Chip cookie recipe too. My Silhouette and snowflake punches came in handy yet again for the red wrapper. We still have more dough to deliver, so if you're my neighbor and you're reading this, please act surprised when we show up on your doorstep bearing gifts later this afternoon.

We go Christmas caroling every year with our Sunday School class and all the kids. It is so much fun.

Every year something crazy happens. Last year our pastor got attacked by a dog (not funny) but he has a very deep voice and it freaked the dog out. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt.

Every single year, almost EVERY single family we carol to, offers us money (did this happen to you?) We are always shocked by this. (We of course don't take it) but I don't think people in this era know how to handle nice people coming to their door and singing to them (and we give each house a plate of cookies).

We always love how the whole family comes to the door and smiles and they clap and seem so thrilled. It is a joy to carol and fun memories.

About Me

Hi, I'm Meredith. I'm a wife, mom, hiker, mountain climber, student, coffee drinker, Christ-follower, nature lover, and nutrition nerd. I grew up in the South but have called Colorado home for almost thirteen years and I love this state with all my heart. My family currently resides in a small, mountain community that sits at...you guessed it...7000 ft above sea level.
This blog is a bit like a family scrapbook for me. It's a place where I write about my family and lots of other things I love. Welcome!